Over the Years
by fooboo24
Summary: Lance and Lyra, over the years. Lyra/Lance - TrickyShipping.
1. I'll be Better than Him!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

**Author's Notes:** I just love this pairing so much, and this annoying plot bunny started gnawing at my brain, until I finally just had to write it! It's about their developing relationship over their years together. Damn plot bunnies. :P Also, be reminded, this does not go in accordance to the game, but does take place within the game-verse. It also alternates POVs between both Lyra and Lance. Also, I want to thank _Tanya Adams 64_, who inspired me to write my own Lance and Lyra story after reading her excellent ones.

**Summary:** Lance and Lyra, over the years.

**Pairing(s):** Lance/Lyra (TrickyShipping), one-sided Lance/Cynthia, one-sided Lyra/Eusine

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_**Chapter 1 - **__I'll be Better than Him!_

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**Lyra - **_10 Years Old_

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Everyone was crowding around April Wynn, and I couldn't understand as to why. All I knew was that she was waving around something of extreme interest, especially to the girls of my fifth grade class, and that I wanted to see what it was. Pushing my way through the hoards of 10 year olds, I finally managed to make it to the front of the mass of people and I saw what it was that she was holding. It was a piece of paper with a picture of the young Johto and Kanto champion Lance, with some scribble on the bottom of it.

"Yes, that is right, folks, _I_, April Wynn, have the great champion, Lance's, autograph!" April boasted out loudly. I rolled my eyes at her. Oh, what April would do for attention. She then noticed me, and gave me a conceited little snort of a laugh. I glared and stuck my tongue out. Let's just say we had a less than stellar relationship.

"Oh, hi, Lyra. How mature of you," she smirked when she saw me look at the paper again. "Come to see my very legit autograph of Lance's? It's my sister's, but whatever. I still technically own it."

"No," I scoffed, crossing my arms in my defence. "It's stupid. It's _just_ Lance. He's nothing special." I waved my hand dismissively at my mentioning of his name. If you hadn't already figured it out, I wasn't that big of a fan of Lance as my other classmates were.

April's mouth dropped open. "_Just_ Lance? What are you, brain dead? Lance is the cutest and most dreamy champion _ever_. Besides, he's a better trainer than you'll ever turn out to be." And with her point against me made, she turned around and bounced off prissily, people following her in small groups.

I grumbled something incoherent, before stalking off myself. I'd show her. No, I'd show _him_. I would become the best trainer anyone from around here had ever seen. I would beat him, and _I _would become the new champion… as soon as my mother allowed me to go off all by myself.

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_End of Chapter 1!_

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**Author's Notes: **Lyra dun like the Lance!

'_Til Next Time!_

_**Fooboo24**_


	2. Leaving and Meeting

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

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_**Chapter 2 - **Leaving and Meeting_

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**Lyra - **_14 Years Old_

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It wasn't until four more years passed that I proved to my mother that I was responsible enough to go out into the world and travel. And she just _barely_ let me go at that, may I add.

I was so proud when I got my first Pokemon. A Cyndaquil. I thought it was the cutest little thing in the world. But April and her entourage, of course, thought differently.

"Hiiiii, Lyra, 'cute' Pokemon you got there," she trilled out into my ear. "But, of course, my Chikorita is cuter." She looked down at the spoiled little green leaf Pokemon that was standing beside her. Her friends, Chelsea and Anna, giggled loyally by her side, as well. I winced noticeably. Over the last four years, her voice had actually managed to get that much squeakier. I chose not to acknowledge her, and continued to pack up my bag for the long journey ahead of me. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Packing up to leave," I answered emotionlessly. "Now would you mind leaving me alone?"

"Completely," she replied sarcastically. She then did that awful snort that only she could do. "So you're really go off to get all of the badges of Johto?"

"Yes."

"So you _think_ you're going to battle Lance, don't you?"

"I don't _think _so, April, I know I will so."

"Oh, c'mon, Lyra, we all know that you're barely going to get past Mr. Pokemon's house before you come back here crying to Elm and your mother," she babbled on and on to me, flipping her faux blonde hair. "Really, just admit it to yourself now and drop out of the race. Don't risk looking like more of a fool than you already are. Even _I_ have a better chance at making it to - and with - Lance than you do."

Zipping my bag up, I was now furious. Why was I so easy to rile up? "You know what, April? I don't care what you think! I'm going to get all eight badges and make it to the Pokemon League and beat your beloved Lance! And that's when you'll look like the fool!" I bent down and grabbed my bag and Cyndaquil, who was just as confused as Chikorita was. "Let's go, Cyndaquil," I huffed moodily. As I stomped away from the group of superficial girls, they laughed at me.

"At least be sure to put a good word for me in!" April called at me. "I'd love to get to know Lance better!" For some reason, this annoyed me. But, whatever. I needed to forget about all of this and especially about April, because tomorrow I would be starting a whole new chapter of my life.

* * *

"Bye, Lyra. We're really gonna miss you," Ethan told me as he motioned to his Marill, who was jumping up and down beside him.

"Aw, Ethan, I'm not going to be gone for that long. A year, at max. I'll be back before you know it!" I smiled at him, hiking my bag up higher on my shoulder. He looked down at the ground sadly. "I'm gonna miss you, too."

He hugged me, and I hugged him back. Stepping back, I turned to my mother. "Bye, mom," I smiled at her now.

"You better call me and update me regularly, young lady," she explained to me her terms. "Or else your going to be in some boiling water when you get back here.""I know, mom," I exhaled.

Smiling sadly, she hugged me tightly. "I love you, Lyra. Please be careful out there. It's a big and dangerous world, but it can be beautiful if you experience it in the right ways." She began to cry.

I nodded, feeling tears beginning to prick at my eyes, too. "I love you, too, mom." I had to get out of there fast, before I started crying myself! Finally, I turned to the last person who was there to tell my goodbye and wish me good luck.

"Thank-you, Professor," I grinned brightly at him.

"For what?" he fixed his glasses, which kept falling down his narrow nose.

"For Cyndaquil. And for giving me the chance to go on my own adventure."

"You're welcome for that. But now it's time you gave back. You need to prove to us all that you can make it! That you're going to thrive and prove to everyone in Johto that even small town kids can make it big!"

I pumped my fist confidently. "I will, Professor! I won't let any of you down!"

Now, with all goodbyes said and received, I was off. I turned around, and began to walk towards the exit of the town, towards Route 29. Stopping at the edge of town, I waved a final wave at the three of them before I started walking again.

Smiling to myself now, I involuntarily began to run, throwing Cyndaquil's Pokeball to release it. He bounced along beside me, flames on his back flickering happily. I was free. I was free of the restricting little town, of April, of all of it. And I was ready to prove her wrong - but more importantly, prove myself and Ethan, the Professor, and my mother _right_.

* * *

I was almost there. I almost had all my gym badges, and I was almost fifteen. Only two gym badges to go, and only two weeks until my fifteenth birthday. I had promised my mother that I would be home for my birthday, but it looks like that wasn't going to happen. I was too close to just stop - even for a break - now. I had to keep going.

April had been stupefied by my endeavours, but she was still convinced that I wasn't going to make it. "Just because Lyra's three quarters of the way there, doesn't mean she's going to make it," were the exact words she had told Ethan to tell me. But I couldn't be bothered by April any longer. I had learned to ignore her. This wasn't to prove her wrong anymore, it was solely for me, myself and I and those I had made the promise of succeeding to.

Now, here I was, at the Lake of Rage, searching around. I'd heard that a funny redhead was wandering around there, and I wanted to see if that funny redhead was Lance. Maybe I'd be able to catch a battle with him _before _getting to the League. I found it near impossible to see let alone find the young man through the rain. I wondered what was causing such a horrific storm - I'd heard that this lake was usually calm. So what was-

"Gyyyyyarraaaaa!" a loud roar broke through my thoughts. Swinging around to see the source of it, I saw a red - _red _- Gyarados thrashing about in the middle of the lake. It looked pained and distraught. I felt the immediate need to help it, and so sending out my Seadra, I jumped into the freezing water, without any consideration for my-already-chilled-to-the-bone-self, grabbing onto one of his fins and commanding him towards the great beast. When we got close to it, it quickly became clear that the only way I was going to be able to help the distressed creature would be to catch it. And despite myself, I couldn't help but think, _cool_. I was going to own the only red Gyarados ever! At least I would if I played my cards right. The thing looked extremely powerful.

Jumping off of Seadra, I called him forth for battle now, considering he was my only Water-type Pokemon. "Seadra, use Hydro Pump!" I directed him. Obediently, Seadra shot a shockingly powerful blast of water at the Gyarados. It turned around in a rage, now fully aware and alerted of the challenge I was imposing on it. "Now use Hydro Pump again!" Seadra followed my command with the attack again. Gyarados roared out before firing a Hyper Beam at Seadra, who took it on full force. I looked at Seadra worriedly after this. He had been hit hard by the extremely strong attack. But I knew that he wasn't going to give up that easily, and neither was I! When he flapped his fins at me, signalling that he was okay and ready to go again, I commanded one last attack, our secret weapon, his most powerful attack. "Seadra, use Dragon Pulse!" And with one perfectly aimed shot, the fire scalded at the red Gyarados's scales, burning him severely. Instinctively, I pulled an Ultra Ball out of my bag, throwing it at him before he could react in his savage fury. Closing around it, I held my breath as it floated and wriggled around the water. Finally, it glowed red, and I was ecstatic. I had caught the red Gyarados! The one and only! Swimming over, I grabbed hold of the Ultra Ball, putting it in my bag for safe keeping.

Latching myself back onto an equally as exhausted Seadra, we both swam back together. As we did, the rain clouds slowly began to disappear. _Good_, I thought, _I'll be able to search for Lance now._Still no consideration for myself, but whatever. My mother wasn't here to reprimand me about it, so I was fine for with a few Potions, my new Gyarados would be as good as new, and then I'd show Lance just how much more powerful I was than him.

As soon as we got back to shore, before even getting out of the water, I returned Seadra to his Pokeball. He deserved a good, long rest after that battle. Swimming a little farther, I finally found my feet touching the soggy, mushy, dirty ground of the Lake of Rage. Grabbing onto a ledge, I tried to pull myself up and out of the water, but found I was too tired and it was just too slippery, and so the end result was me slipping piteously into the water again. I grumbled, but then sighed. _Great_. I didn't want to bring out any of my Pokemon to help me, as it was much too cold from the rain and they were all too tired, and-

"May I offer you a hand?" I heard a soft, but manly, voice interrupt my thoughts. Looking up and pulling my wet hair out of eyes, I noticed a friendly-faced young man with _red_ hair offering his hand to me, a Dragonite flying slightly off the ground not far from his side, making happy little humming noises to itself.

Because of the situation, I was in no place to reject his offer. "Um, sure," I responded back numbly, reaching my hand up to meet his. Taking hold of it, he wrapped his other available hand around my back to help pull me completely out of the water. I soon found myself being held against his chest, his arms and cape wrapped around me.

"You must be freezing," was what he whispered to me. I couldn't help but blush, despite what I thought about him. I almost let myself get lost in the warmth he was providing me with - _almost_ - but instead pulled away.

"T-thank you," I shivered - more from how suddenly nervous I was than from the cold atmosphere. I breathed in shakily, regaining my composure bit by bit.

He smiled at me, and I felt myself lose it all over again. Why was I acting like this around him? All he was was the conceited champion of Johto and Kanto, and nothing more than that! "No problem." He stepped closer to me, extending his hand out. "I'm Lance, by the way."

Blinking at his hand, I took it and shook it carefully. "And I'm Lyra."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said gentlemanly, releasing my hand. "That was quite the catch you just made," he complimented.

"Um, thanks," I replied shyly.

"I-" he cut himself off abruptly, looking around, and I frowned, figuring he was bored with talking to me. He then continued, though, "I'm sorry for that. I just heard that strange noise again… Say, Lyra, would you help me?"

I was a little hesitant. What strange noise? Was he crazy or something? "With w-what, exactly?"

"In town, there's a strange tree. Have you seen it?" I nodded. "Well, it's been giving off a strange noise, radio waves, and I believe, and it's been forcing the Magikarp out here to evolve before they are ready. I've been investigating it for a while now, and I've finally gotten some leads. I'm going to need some help if I am to stop the criminals behind it. So, are you in?"

Again, I was hesitant. I barely knew this guy, yet he was asking for my help. But then again, he was a lot more trustworthy than some other people I had come across - and at least I _knew_ who he was to a general extent. But any and all thoughts flew out of reach when he flashed his dashing smile at me. "So?"

I went with the first word that came even briefly to mind. "Sure."

* * *

I think I got a little more than I bargained for. Whereas I thought we were only going to do a little snooping around, I somehow got mixed up in the taking down of the Rocket base. It had taken an impossibly long and tiring time to do (in my mind - as I was so worn-out to begin with), but we eventually found the source of the radio waves that had been affecting the Magikarp - a giant machine powered by Electrode. Unfortunately, though, the only way we were able to stop it was to knock out the poor Electrode, which neither of us liked doing. But it had to be done.

So now here we were, standing outside the door of the shop that he been disguising the Rocket base. "Good work back there. Thanks a bunch for teaming up with me. We make a great team, don't you think?" he smiled at me again, pulling a hand through his spiky red hair. I nodded self-consciously. A moment passed, and sticking his hand into his pocket, it remerged a second later, holding something directed at me. "Here," he said. "Just a little gift for your helping me. It's Hidden Machine Whirlpool." I simply blinked down at it. "Good ahead, take it." Taking the HM from his hand, I placed it in my bag for safe keeping. "Again, thank-you for the help."

"It was a lot of fun, actually," I found myself saying.

"Well, please forgive for cutting our conversation short, but I must be going. I have to get back to the Indigo Plateau - Karen told me there was someone waiting to battle me, and she said they were tough. It's been a while since anyone has challenged me, let alone been good." He fished a Pokeball out of his pocket, before releasing his Dragonite again. Just before hopping on, he turned to me again. "Are you going to be challenging the Pokemon League?"

"In fact, I am," I answered confidently.

"Then I look forward to seeing you again," he smiled _that _smile again before jumping on his Dragonite's back. The Dragonite's wings began to flap rapidly, and then they were off. "See you soon, Lyra!" he shouted at me from high in the sky.

"Bye," I waved slightly at him, but he was already too far off to see or hear me. My face was burning up at his smile and the comment of wanting to see me again soon. And as I began to walk off in the direction of the Pokemon Center, I suddenly hit me altogether that I had forgotten to ask for a battle. And surprisingly, I didn't care. I'd get to prove to him my power soon enough.

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_The End of Chapter 2..._

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_'Til next time!_

_**Fooboo24**_


	3. Unaccomplished Accomplishments

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

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**_Chapter 3 - _**_Unaccomplished Accomplishments_

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Lyra - **_15 Years Old

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"It's good to see you again," Lance smiled at me, tossing a Pokeball up and down in his hand - probably his Dragonite. He looked confident, but not cocky.

"Same," I smiled back confidently. "What about that last competitor that you told me about in Mahogany? He win?"

"Nope, or you'd be battling him right now," he explained. "But let's not put this off any longer. This is business, not personal. I, Lance, Dragon Master and Champion of Johto and Kanto, challenge you, Lyra of New Bark Town!"

"And I accept!" I winked at him playfully, causing his face to breakout in a bright blush.

"Uh," he tried to compose himself and find words to speak with. "T-then let's go!" he stammered at me, throwing out his Pokeball, which did in fact contain Dragonite.

My heart beating fast with anticipation and newfound adrenaline, I dug into my bag, pulling out the Pokeball that held Typhlosion. The biggest battle of my life was about to begin.

* * *

"It appears as though I have… lost," Lance admitted. He looked broken for a second, and I couldn't help but feel bad. But I quickly lost that feeling. I had won this title - Champion - fair and square, and I shouldn't have to feel bad or sorry or regretful to anyone about it. "But…" he continued, his facial expression changing. "I'm proud of you. You're the first person to be me in years, and if you don't mind me saying - the first _girl _ever."

I wasn't offended by that. It was true. I _was _the first female champion **ever**. He walked over to me, and wrapped an arm around me. "Now, Champion, follow me. There is one last thing that you must do to officially make you champion." I looked at the ground so he didn't see me blush, and I allowed him to usher me forward. We were interrupted, though, when the doors flew open behind us.

"Lance!" a young woman, DJ Mary, called at the twenty three year old.

"Why, hello, Mary," he turned around to face her, me awkwardly pinned to his side.

"Hi," she batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously, and I suddenly felt sick. "I've come to interview the new Champion!"

"Can you make an appointment with Lyra later? We've got some unfinished business to attend to," he told her.

She nodded, slowly inching closer to us - _him_. "And maybe we can make appointment to get some details from the former Champion, as well." She leered at him, and each second spent between them was making me feel more and more uncomfortable. Couldn't they flirt afterwards? When I looked up Lance, though, he didn't seem to have the same expression that Mary was displaying. Maybe he wasn't as interested as Mary thought he was…?

"Of course, Mary," he smiled at her, and she visibly swooned. She then looked down at me, as I was considerably shorter than Lance was.

"And you must be Lyra!" she crossed her arms at me.

"Uh, yeah," I answered uneasily. She gave me a disapproving and condescending look up and down. I was almost literally clinging to Lance now. "Um…" I trailed, trying to get his attention so we could leave.

"Oh, yes," he was reminded, and he pulled me tighter - if that was even possible - against his side. "We better go. See you later, Mary. C'mon, Lyra," he turned around, pulling me with him, causing Mary to glare daggers at my back. _Wow_, I thought to myself, _he really has an effect on women_. I was determined, though, not to let myself get distracted by him. I had a little more self-respect than _that_.

* * *

After the Mary fiasco, Lance brought me to a soundless black room, where I registered my Pokemon and myself as Champions. After that, Lance offered to take me back home. I was quite tired after all the battling against the Elite Four, and so allowed him to.

He flew me back on his Dragonite, and the entire way back to New Bark we had shared pleasant conversation. I even think he purposely got a little turned around just so we talk a bit longer. But that's probably just me.

We finally arrived at the small town, and he slowly circled down, people gathering outside to see what the commotion was. "I think it's Lyra!" Ethan shouted excitedly.

"Tch, yeah, right," April interjected snippily.

I smiled evilly to myself. I was just about to crush every negative thing she had ever said about me. "Whoa, steady, Dragonite," Lance calmed the large orange dragon as it began to get a little claustrophobic around the ever-increasing bunches of people that began to crowd it.

For a few minutes, all that could be heard was a plethora of 'ooh's, 'aah's, 'is that Lyra?'s, and excited 'that's Lance!'s. Lance hopped off of his Dragonite, and took my hand in his, helping me down, and then returned the Pokemon to its Pokeball. I looked around at all the people, smiling to myself proudly. I'd done it. I'd proved them all wrong.

Out of nowhere, Ethan came running up, hugging me. "Lyra! You did it! You did it!" he cheered.

I hugged him back, "Hey, Ethan."

Lance smiled down at us, but something in his eyes wasn't right. I then saw a flash of fake blonde hair, and recognized it as April, who was walking up to me with a dangerous glint in her eyes as Lance placed as hand on my shoulder. "Lyra," she spat.

"April," I was equally as unfriendly. "I think you have something to say to me."

"You're not done yet, in my mind," my mouth dropped at what she said. "If you can go through Kanto, and then _re_-beat Lance, then I'll admit it. But not until then. _Never_ until then."

_WHAT? _Was she really serious? I had just fulfilled everything she had said that I couldn't do! And now she was denying it and asking for _more_? My thoughts were cut off, though, by her shrill voice talking away at Lance. "But I do see that you brought back at least something of _value_," she smirked at me, ogling Lance.

I gave her a thoroughly disgusted look. "Right."

Lance looked between us, confused. "Personally, I think Lyra's accomplished enough for now. She should take some time to relax, she deserves it. She rightfully earned her title, too," he defended after her badmouthing me.

She shook her head at me, glaring. "Whatever." She turned back to Lance, giving him a flirty look. "I'll talk to _you _later, if you're going to stay in town for a little while."

"Actually," Lance wrapped an arm around me. "I'll be spending my time here with Lyra _only_." I felt a huge smile appear on my face at the incredulous look on her own. Maybe Lance wasn't _that _bad, after all.

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End of Chapter 3._


	4. New Years!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

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_**Chapter 4 - **__New Years!_

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Lyra

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It was New Years Eve, and Lance had invited me to a special Pokemon League New Years Eve party where all the regions' Elite Fours and Champions would gather to celebrate the New Year together. I was having a good little time all by my lonesome in the corner of the room, spying over everything and everybody around me while drinking some grape punch.

Lorelei was wowing along with all of the guys (being Blue, Bruno, Will, Sidney, Aaron, and Flint) and doing a very good job of it. Cynthia was chatting it up with Lance while reading a black book of some kind. I couldn't help but feel a flicker of something inside me of how close she was to him, how she laughed at what he said, and the look and smile that she kept giving him. Lucian sat beside her, also quite avidly reading, while sometimes interjecting comments at what she and Lance were talking about. Drake was having an amiable argument with Agatha and Bertha about which type was better - Dragon, Ghost, or Ground-type? Glacia was scolding and mothering about a clumsy Phoebe for spilling some punch on the carpet, with Phoebe half-listening and trying desperately to clean it up before it permanently stained. Wallace was sitting on a chair in the corner, dozing off slightly. And lastly, Karen, Steven, and Koga were all going over battle strategies. I smiled, content to myself in my little corner of solitude. After a minute, I looked up at the clock and noticed it was only three minutes until midnight. Lance mentioned something about there being a special surprise that they all did, and I was dying to know what it was.

"Okay!" Aaron jumped out of nowhere. "Time to begin! Everyone find a partner!"

Drake smiled a big goofy smile, wrapping both arms around Agatha and Bertha, who both giggled at him. "Oh, you," they both said in unison. He only smiled wider.

Wallace walked up to Glacia, claiming her. Karen turned to Steven, a blush crawling to his face. Lorelei called on all of the boys in her little group, who were all grinning rather widely. Lucian, who was so quiet and calm and collected before, turned to face Cynthia, a nervous look on his clearly embarrassed face as he took her hand. I was surprised that she hadn't turned to Lance. "And you're mine!" Phoebe grabbed Aaron's hand, pulling him to her, causing him to go tomato red.

Lance turned from his spot on the sofa to smile coyly at me. "In the words of Phoebe, you're mine."

I could only blink - I was just too confused to do anything else. "W-what do you mean by that?" I stammered out. He reached out a hand to me, which I took gingerly. "Lance, what's going on?" I demanded at him when he pulled me into his strong arms - which were just as warm and inviting as the first time I was in them at the Lake of Rage… but it's not like I was making a bit deal of it. It was just _Lance_, anyway.

"This is the surprise!" he told me. "It's a tradition, that at the end of every year, a minute before midnight, we all 'pair up' and, um… er, kiss. And then after the clock gongs twelve, we switch around and kiss someone else for another minute of the New Year. You know, just like a little good-luck-for-the-New-Year peck." His face was flushed a bright red as he explained it all to me.

"Oh, um," I couldn't form a coherent sentence out loud or in my mind. "I-"

"Okay, everyone!" Blue then shouted, cutting into what I was about to say. "Let's do this!" He had a crazy smile planted on his face - he was also the first one in Lorelei's line-up.

"So, uh," I looked up at Lance, my face glowing pink. "Um…"

"Yeah," he murmured, equally as awkward. But after a few moments, all uncertainty from before disappeared from his eyes. With that charming smile that only he could do, he bent down and placed his lips on mine, wrapping a strong arm around my waist and holding me close. And that was probably the most blissful minute of my entire life. I couldn't help but kiss back that much more at the thought of how April would react to this.

Before I knew it though, the joyous sensations he was creating for me were over just like *snap* that. Lance smiled at me again, blushing fiercely while pulling a hand through his hair nervously. "Uh, well," he rubbed the back of his head. "H-happy New Year, Lyra."

I nodded, blushing just as wildly - if not more - than he was. I toyed with the end of a pigtail of mine, looking at the ground. "Um, same to you, Lance."

Suddenly, Blue jumped in front of Lance, grinning insanely at me. "You're next, Lyra! Get ready to experience the best kiss of your lifetime!" I smiled sheepishly up at Lance, but he was already gone and on the couch, having claimed Cynthia, who looked pleased with herself. Suddenly angry, I turned back to Blue.

"Alright, let's do this!" I grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and pulled his face down onto mine. No one had begun yet, and so we were the only ones, everyone's eyes on us. Lance cocked and eyebrow at us, and his eyes flashed something before he shrugged and turned back to Cynthia, leaning over and kissing her. I felt the unknown feeling of jealousy boil in my blood at that and kissed Blue harder. And when the impossibly long minute ended, I pulled away and Blue had an amazed, but satisfied, look on his face.

"Now _that _was a kiss!" he pumped his fist in the air above him. He hooted, and I covered my burning face from the stares and curious looks we were getting.

"Um, yes. Happy new year to you, too, Blue," I scooted away from him as quickly as possible, returning back to my little corner with a new cup of punch, readying myself to observe everyone else again. But for some reason, all I could focus on was Lance.

* * *

**Lance**

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* * *

**

So here I was, sitting on the sofa, half-listening to this extremely lovely young woman talk to me about her fascination with Dialga and Palkia, and all I could think about was the just-barely-fifteen-year-old in the corner of the room. What the hell was wrong with me? If this were Blue or Wallace, they would have probably already made a move on Cynthia. And, by the look she was giving me right then, it seemed as though she expecting me to, as well. "Excuse me for a moment, Cynthia," I told her with a smile. She gave me a look, but let me go off.

Lyra was now being harassed by a drunk Blue and Flint, who were laughing at her. They were nice guys, I knew that, but I also knew that Blue could get pretty nasty when he was intoxicated, and so I felt the need to intervene.

"C'mon, baby," Blue leaned over and kissed her, and she pushed him away violently. "It's not that hard to do. You just stick-"

"Ahem?" I crossed my arms at them. Flint bolted at the sight of me, but Blue stood firm.

"What the hell do you want, Dragon Princess?" he drawled, annoyed.

"I want to talk to Lyra," I gave him a glare, trying to spook him. Yeah, it wasn't working.

"Well, as you can see, dickhead, I am," Blue snapped. Lyra gasped slightly at the name he called me. Cue the bitchy Blue. He leered at Lyra, and for reasons unbeknownst to me, I felt a raging anger begin to rumble with me. "I'm teaching her a few things... up close and personal, if you know what I mean," he smiled crudely at her before grabbing onto her thigh and running his hand up her skirt. And before even Lyra could react, I found my fist connecting with his face, sending him flying to the ground.

"You have no right!" I yelled at him, defending the scared-senseless Lyra.

Everyone in the room was now beginning to turn and watch us. "_Ass_hole!" Blue spat at me, and before I knew he even struck me, he punched me back. I fell to the ground with a slam. Turning to a hammered Flint, he high-fived him before turning back to Lyra and grabbing her face in a violent kiss. She fell to the floor in the chair trying to push him away. "Idiot," he sneered at her. Infuriated once again at his comment to her, I jumped up and slammed my fist into his nose, him hitting the ground again.

"Oh, now you're going to get it, pretty boy!" he ran at me now, holding his now broken nose, and punched me once again square in the jaw. I fell to the ground.

"Lance!" I heard Lyra cry.

"What is going on?" I heard Koga yell at the top of his lungs from behind the small crowd. Blue then turned to me, grinned evilly, and clenched his battered fist once again. My vision then blurred for a second – the wrong second. I closed my eyes then, bracing myself for impact. But it never came. Instead, I heard a loud 'slap!' noise, and then gasps and whispers. Regaining my sight, I looked around and down, only to see Lyra sitting beside me, tears falling down her face with a very visible red mark on her left cheek. And that was the last straw for me. Holding out my arms for her, I allowed her to fall into them, sobbing.

"You. Stupid. Fu-!" I was cut off by a harsh yell.

"Move it! Move it!" Agatha screamed as she pushed her way through the crowd with her cane. When she got to the front, she gasped at the sight before her: blood every which way with a bawling Lyra in my battered and bruised arms, with a drunk, broken-nosed, and bloodied Blue just two feet away from us. Her eyes widened, she screamed out, "Someone, anyone, get the first aid kit!" She flung her cane at Flint. "You, go!" The scrawny red-head bolted off, trying to avoid getting in anymore trouble than he was already in. She started to shoo people off, and when most of them were gone, except Cynthia, Koga, Drake, Bertha, and herself, she bent down to where Lyra and I were. "What happened here?" she asked calmly.

Saying nothing, I motioned my head in the direction of Blue, still holding Lyra tightly. Agatha followed my eyes, and when she saw Blue sitting there, she rolled her eyes. "Figures." She then turned back to me. "And what about her?" she put a hand on Lyra's shaking shoulder.

"He hit her," I answered simply.

"How badly?" Koga bent down beside me now.

Shaking my head, I slowly pulled her away from me. She refused to look at anyone. I looked down at her left cheek and saw that the red mark was fading quickly, but was being replaced by a dark bruise. My hatred for Blue right then was almost rekindled enough to punch him again. "Badly enough," I told them quietly, Lyra turning back into my chest, continuing to cry, her hands digging into my shirt.

"Let's get her out of here and somewhere a little quieter," Bertha suggested. I nodded, and picking her up bridge-groom style, Bertha and Agatha lead me to a room in the rented party house. Koga and Drake were left to deal with the shit-faced Blue.

Opening to the door to the room, I walked over to the bed and gently laid her down on it. "I think we should give her some time alone," Bertha spoke again.

I nodded, but Lyra grabbed my hand in protest. "Please, stay with me, Lance," she begged. I looked at her, and then at the two elderly women. They nodded at me, and left, closing the door behind them, nervously chatting about the situation at hand.

Pulling up a random chair beside the bed, I held Lyra's hand. Her breathing was slightly laboured, and, despite myself, I tenderly touched the place where Blue had struck her. She whimpered as my hand neared her eye, and I stopped. After a moment, I spoke to her softly. "I'm sorry, Lyra, for that. If I hadn't intruded, then you wouldn't be in this condition."

She opened her scrunched eyes and smiled slightly at me. "It's just a bruise, Lance. I'll be fine. But... um," she paused, staring at the floor. "T-thank you for doing that for me. I really appreciate it. I've never actually met a real life man who would do that for a girl – just seen them in the movies."

I blushed at the compliment. "No problem." I then found myself doing the stupid thing where I pulled my hand through my hair and smiled all goofy-like. She giggled at my expression, but that just ended with her face hurting more. "Don't strain yourself, 'kay?"

"Okay," she murmured, turning over and cuddling into one of the pillows on the insanely large bed. The door then opened, and there was Cynthia, who was beckoning me with her finger. I nodded at her and put up two of my fingers, signalling that'd I'd be out in two or less minutes. I stood up and picked up the blankets, throwing them over Lyra. This just caused her to snuggle in more, a small smile on her face. Looking around, as if to reassure myself no one was there, I bent down and placed kiss on her non-bruised up cheek.

"Good night, Lyra," I whispered as I walked out of the bedroom, switching off the lights.

As I walked towards Cynthia, who was looking highly unimpressed with me, standing beside Agatha and Bertha with her arms crossed, both of whom were holding band-aids and such and fussing about Blue, I couldn't help but feel a little proud as I touched the painful bruise forming on my face. It was like it was proof – proof that Lyra thought I was heroic. And for some reason, despite the immense pain, that thought kept a smile on my face for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Lyra**

**

* * *

**

Holy crap. What just happened? Just an hour ago, I was kissing the guy I swore to myself that I didn't like, and then, bam! Here I was, laying in a random bed with a giant bruise on my face! As I laid there, though, as much as I wanted to think about how much I royally hated Blue now, I just couldn't. All I could focus on was one thing. And that was kissing Lance.

I thought about every little factor of it. How much April would hate me (that much more) for it, how inappropriate it was (really) that I had been kissing a man eight years older than me, how I told myself that I didn't like the red haired former-Champion, but most of all... how it was my first kiss. Yes, my first. It's not like I was going to tell anyone that, but it was true.

I couldn't help but smile inwardly at the next thought that passed through my head. Whereas April's first kiss had been a meaningless make out session with my next door neighbour, Dean Weskerman, mine had been with the self-professed "love of April's life", the former-Champion and Dragon Master Extraordinaire, Lance. Again... April would be driven right up the wall if she knew. But that wasn't what kept a smile on my face for the rest of the night, it was the knowledge that I just had been kissed, and by a great guy at that.

* * *

_Chapter 4 finished!_


	5. Lyra's Mother

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 5 - **Lyra's Mother_

**

* * *

Lance

* * *

**

The next morning, I took Lyra home. It was awkward trying to explain the large bruise on her face to mother. I could tell that, even though I wasn't the one who had inflicted it, her mother, Rayne, didn't like me one bit. She thought that I was nothing but trouble, and there was probably some truth in that. I wasn't the safest person in the world, if you hadn't noticed. But at the request of Lyra, she reluctantly invited me to stay for dinner.

After the particularly awkward dinner, Lyra rushed up the stairs to her room to check on an Egg that her mother had been looking after for her. Apparently it had been shaking around every now and then.

"So…" I trailed uncomfortably. I was sitting on one side of the table with her mother staring - glaring? - me down from the other side.

"Would you like some tea?" she offered after a second.

"Uh, okay?" I cocked an eyebrow at the rather random offer before she got up from her seat and sauntered over to the cupboard to get the kettle. In no time at all, a tea-filled cup was sitting before me with a little dish of sugar cubes beside it. A minute passed, and when I didn't pick it up to drink it or even touch it, Lyra's mother gave me a look. Truthfully, I wasn't really a 'tea guy', I was a 'coffee guy', but I hadn't refused Rayne's offer because then who knows what other awkward things and thoughts would have ensued. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome, young man," she grabbed two sugar cubes and threw them into her tea, looking extra unimpressed at me for some reason. I sighed, and she gave me a look. I crossed my arms, staring at the ground, and five very long minutes passed without a sign of Lyra. I was getting antsy for her to return - she was the only thing making staying at her home bearable for me. Her mother then spoke up again. "How old are, Lance?" she asked.

I blinked, before answering. "Twenty three."

She looked away and shook her head to herself. She then said something that surprised me a bit. "She talks about you a lot, you know. She never used to," she said this more to herself than to me. She gave a wistful sigh. "She actually used to despise you. All that girl, April, could ever talk about was you when they were younger, that's why." My mouth almost hung open at all of this. Was she indirectly insulting me through Lyra?

Then - _finally!_ - Lyra appeared at the bottom of the staircase, smiling at us. "The Egg's doing great."

"I think I'm going to go," I said suddenly, getting up and out of my chair. "I have to go and see my grandfather," I lied. No, really, I just needed away from the horrid woman that was unfortunately this extremely nice girl's mother.

Lyra turned to me, a disappointed and hurt look in her eyes. "Oh, um, okay." I made my way to the door, and she followed me there. "Bye, then," she waved at me.

"I'll see you later," I told her before walking out of her front door and into the streets. She nodded at me before closing her door shut. I could hear her mother behind me saying, "What a rude man, he didn't even finish his tea."

After a while, I slowed my pace. I wasn't at all ill-mannered! But what I had just done had been rude, even I had to admit - what with me just up and leaving like that. But really, this wasn't how I was supposed to be spending my time - _dealing_ with the Champion's catty mother. If I was to spend time with Lyra, next time, it would be without her mother around us.

* * *

_Chapter 5 is done._


	6. Lyra's Gotta Date

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 6 - **Lyra's Gotta Date_

**

* * *

Lyra - **_16 Years Old

* * *

_

I was sitting at an outside table at a restaurant in Olivine City, right on the ocean, waiting for Lance so we could have dinner. He was almost a half hour late, but I didn't mind waiting all that much. I knew he was a busy guy. I had asked him to go to dinner because we hadn't seen as much of each other as we used to, and I wanted to spend some time with him and catch up. I guess it was safe to say that I didn't really hate him anymore (I don't think I ever did in the first place!), and that we were friends.

I was reading a magazine when I heard a voice from behind me. "Hello, Lyra," I heard it say sensually into my ear. It sounded familiar, but like I hadn't heard it in a long, long while.

I swung around, only to see the owner of the voice, clad in his silly purple suit, gloves and all. "Eusine," I smiled at him. He was an interesting thing, really. "Hi."

"Again, hello," he bowed to me. I giggled. He then noticed the empty seat at the table I was at. "Are you waiting for someone in particular?"

"Lance," I said with a smile.

Eusine's eyes flashed something. "Is it a date or something? Am I intruding in on something private?"

I laughed at that and how curious he seemed. The strange man had made his feelings for me rather obvious before, and I had to admit, he was quite cute. I mean, who knows? "No, no, in fact," I motioned to the seat. "I don't think Lance is coming anytime soon, and I don't think he'll mind if you visit for a bit." Eusine grinned widely at that, and sat himself down. Before I knew it, I had forgotten all about Lance and was laughing and talking it up with Eusine.

**

* * *

Lance

* * *

**

I was yelling at myself mentally as I ran down the streets of Olivine. I was supposed to have met Lyra at 7:30 for dinner, and it was almost 8:45 now. I couldn't think of any reason as to why she would have waited that long for me, but I just had a feeling that she had.

Finally, I turned a corner and was staring straight ahead at the Royal Blue of Olivine restaurant. I was relieved to see the brunette sitting in a chair at a table outside. But who I saw beside her didn't please me. It was that obsessive Eusine. I felt as angry as I had eight months ago when Blue had gone after her.

I started to walk more slowly and casually now so that I wouldn't attract attention - I didn't really want to have to sign autographs for a bunch of fan girls while I was out with Lyra. She probably wouldn't enjoy that either.

As I walked up to the giggling pair, I tried to act indifferent to Eusine's presence. "Hi, Lyra," I smiled at her, putting my best charm on to distract her from the, well, distracting Eusine.

"Oh, Lance! Hi!" she jumped up and hugged me, sending Eusine back to his more reserved self. "Finally, you decided to come!"

I smiled sheepishly at that. "Uh, yeah. Sorry." Looking down at Eusine, I couldn't help but snippily ask, "And why are you here?" We definitely didn't have the best back story - ever since we had met back when we were sixteen, we had just had an instant hatred for each other that had stemmed into adulthood.

"I was about to ask Lyra a question, actually, when you so rudely intervened," he crossed his arms at me.

"Then ask away; we've got a dinner date," I motioned to Lyra, crossing my arms back at him.

"Fine, then," he jumped up, and pushing me away, slung an arm around Lyra's shoulders. "Would you, Lyra, like to go out with me sometime?"

Lyra blushed up at him, and my mouth visibly dropped at how easily she was being tricked by him. "Sure, Eusine. I'll call you," she waved her PokeGear at him, smiling.

He grinned. "Okay! I'll be seeing you, then!" he pranced off at that, finally leaving us be.

"Did you just agree to go on a date with him?" I blinked incredulously at her after making sure that he was _really_ gone.

"Yes, why?" she gave me a look, before taking my hand and pulling me into the other seat. "Now let's have dinner already! I'm starving!" After that, I easily forgot all about the irritating Eusine, and had a grand time catching up with Lyra.

* * *

_Chapter 6 is finished._


	7. Assumptions of the Jealous

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 7 - **Assumptions of the Jealous_

**

* * *

Lyra

* * *

**

"What movie do you want to see, Eusine?" I asked him as I pointed to one of the multiple posters.

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"So 'The Loved and the Lost' works?" I tilted my head in question at him.

"Sure," he shrugged again. But from the bored look on his face, it didn't seem so.

"Oh, um, okay," I tried to smile to make up for his lack of enthusiasm. "I'll go get the popcorn, okay?"

"I'll find the seats," he mumbled, stalking off into the theater, while I walked off in the opposite direction towards the snack counter. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait in line all that long, and before I knew it, I was heading towards the theatre's door with popcorn and a few other little things in hand. It was a little difficult to carry it all at the same time, and I couldn't really see when - _wham_! I ran smack dab into someone!

Popcorn flying everywhere, I began to apologize profusely. "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" But then seeing who I had run into, I immediately stopped.

"You!" Clair flipped her blue hair out of her face, it burning bright red with anger. She threw her finger out at me, "Lyra! Look what you've done!" She motioned to her obviously ruined outfit. "This was brand new, too!" she whined.

I couldn't help but _not _feel sorry what I had done. Sure, I regretted it, but I wasn't going to bow down to Clair just because she thought she was the Queen of the World! "Clair," was all I said.

Out of nowhere, I shadow appeared above me. "Lyra? Clair? What happened here?" I recognized the voice immediately.

"Lance?"

"Here," he took my hand and pulled me up. He then helped Clair up, who was having a silent tantrum as she wiped butter and popcorn bits off of her pants and out of her hair.

"**LANCE**!" she screamed at him.

He could only offer her a smile. "Lance, this is no laughing matter! My clothes are ruined, and all because of her!" She thrust her finger at me.

"Calm down, Clair," he took her hand and brought it down, patting it gently to calm her. "Everything'll be fine." I felt an uncomfortable surge of jealousy begin to flow through my veins as I stood there watching them. How did they know each other? Why were they here _together_? Were they possibly… dating? I found that almost impossible - how could someone as nice as Lance date someone as bitter as Clair? I was suddenly upset by the awful thought that they may actually be boyfriend and girlfriend, and turned away from them.

Clair began mumbling to herself before she stalked off to the bathroom. Lance then turned to me. "Sorry for that. She can be kind of… spastic."

I frowned cynically. "That's an understatement."

"Is something the matter?" he raised an eyebrow at me in concern.

"No," I stuck my nose in the air and began to walk back towards the snack counter. "I'm fine."

He followed me there. "Are you here all by yourself? That seems kind of odd, you kn-"

"And why would you care if I am, Lance? It's my time and I can spend it how I want to!" I snapped. He gave me a disbelieving look. "And for your information, I'm here on a date."

His eyes narrowed. "Eusine?" he guessed, a fire in his own voice now.

"Yes, now if you don't mind, I am already late for the movie, and I have to get some more popcorn," I pushed by him and ordered what I wanted.

"Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" he asked. "Was it something I said?"

"I don't know, why are you asking so many questions all of a sudden?" I flipped at him. I had to admit - I didn't even know why I was suddenly acting like this towards him. This shut him up though. Turning back around, I continued, "and don't you have your own date to get back to?"

At that, his face cracked into a smile. "What? You mean Clair?"

I nodded. He then laughed. "What?"

"Clair's not my date!" he explained, "she's my cousin. She just wanted to see a movie and didn't want to go alone." I felt my face begin to burn at my assumption.

"Well, u-um, sorry," I grabbed my popcorn and rushed off to the theatre in hopes of halting any further forms of humiliation. "I've got to go seen Eusine before he comes out looking for me, but I'll see you around, okay? Maybe we can make dinner plans again sometime."

"Sure," his eyes flashed at the mention of Eusine again. "Bye, Lyra."

* * *

_Chapter 7... done!_


	8. Deeper than That

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

_**

* * *

Chapter 8 - **_Deeper than That

* * *

Lance - _25 Years Old_

_

* * *

_

"Hey, Lance," Lyra piped up beside me.

"Yeah?" I looked up at her, but still continued grabbing clothes from my drawer.

"I was wondering, maybe, if you'd like to go on this cruise with me?" she asked sheepishly. "I won the tickets on Buena's Password last month, and I've asked everyone that I know if they can go! Ethan's going to visit his grandparents, my mother is already on vacation in Sinnoh, and Eusine had to go to some convention in Slateport, so no one can. The only two people I can think of to ask are you and Silver!"

I rolled my eyes at the Eusine part. He was probably just wowing girls there more than anything. I had been surprised - and incredibly upset - when Lyra and him become an official couple only a little after Cynthia and I did a few months back, but I hadn't had the heart to tell her that Eusine was a huge playboy who had probably already cheated on her multiple times. I then looked away, regretting what I was about to say. "Lyra, I'm sorry, but I can't," I told her. She frowned. "It's me and Cynthia's anniversary in two days, and I promised that I would take her to Lilycove for it."

Lyra looked to the ground, visibly disappointed. "Oh, okay. I guess I can just ask Silver. Besides, he'd love to go, I know it." Her voiced was laced with sadness. A silent moment passed between us.

I sighed heavily before turning around to say that I was sorry again, but when I did, I noticed that she had already left.

"Dammit, Lance," I cursed myself, angrily zipping up my suitcase. "Just… dammit."

* * *

"Ugh, where is he?" Lyra complained, searching for a particular readhead. I shrugged, but she continued to look around. Ultimately, she had contacted Silver, and he had agreed to join her. Personally, I would have rather she gone by herself, but that wouldn't have been fair to her if I had voiced that, and Silver was way better than Eusine in my mind. Still, I didn't like the kid. He had an attitude and a mouth on him, and I couldn't see what Lyra saw in him as a friend.

Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me. "Lyra! Hey, Lyra!" We both turned to see Silver walking towards us, an uncharacteristic smile on his face.

"Oh, hey, Silver," she bounced over to him happily, hugging him tightly.

He then looked down at her, smiling even brighter. I scowled at him. "So when is the boat leaving?" he asked, hiking his bag higher on his shoulder.

"Now!" Lyra laughed, grabbing his shirt as pulling him towards me. She bent down and gripped her bag by its handle. "Thanks for dropping me off here, Lance. I'll see you in two weeks!" she leaned up and pecked me on the lips hastily, before taking Silver's hand and racing down the dock towards the cruise ship. I stood there, speechless as to what she had just gone and done to me.

Had she really just kissed me? But she knew that I had a girlfriend, and a serious one at that! Was it just teasing? Or was it friendly? Or was she trying to signify that she thought more of me than just that? Was - and then my train of thought was halted when she leaned up and kissed Silver the same, quick and seemingly meaningless. I felt enraged at that. Is that really all it had been, meaningless and stupid? But, suddenly, realization hit me: why did I care whether or not it meant something? In fact, I shouldn't. I had a girlfriend that I loved very much (or so I thought), and to think that a girl eight years my junior would like me like _that_ was insane… right? Arceus, I hoped so.

* * *

Those two weeks without Lyra were terribly lonely for me, even if I was with Cynthia. She kept on asking me why I was so depressed, and our time together wasn't as romantic as she would have liked it to be. She kept on complaining and complaining about how all I did was hang around Lyra and how she should be the one to have my full attention. I could barely even off her an ear to listen, let alone care about what she was saying.

I personally went to pick Lyra up on the night that she was to arrive back, to surprise her. It had taken a miserably long time for the boat to come, but I didn't leave. Finally, at nine something at night, did the boat pull in, and out came a tranquil Lyra and Silver, who still had a smile on his face. How strange.

I got up from the bench I had been sitting on and walked up to them, a smile on my face. "Lyra."

"What?" she flipped her head around, and caught sight of me. "Lance? What are you doing here?"

Okay. Not exactly the enthused greet I had expected and wanted, but it worked. "Uh, well, I was going to pick you up."

"Thanks for the offer, Lance, but Silver already is," she explained.

"Oh, really now?" I crossed my arms at the other redhead, glaring. He gave me a look before sending Lyra off for a bit.

He turned to me. "Look, I know we're not on the best of terms, but do you still have a problem with me after four years?"

"What did you do with her on that boat? Because I swear if you-" he cut my curious (okay, intrusive) question (interrogation) off.

"Whoa, calm down. Why would you care if we did anything, anyway?" he countered with a question of his own.

"I-I… answer my question first!" I countered back pathetically.

"Fine, whatever. We didn't do anything, for your information. She doesn't like me that way," Silver looked crestfallen at his confession. "She likes someone else, obviously enough." He turned to stalk over to where Lyra had gone off.

"Yeah, of course, she likes someone else. She has a boyfriend," I commented nastily.

"You really haven't figured it out, have you?" Silver flashed an disbelieving, but entertained, look in my direction.

"Figured out what?" What was there to figure out?

"Are you really that dense?" Silver scoffed.

"I am _not _dense," I defended myself. "Just tell me who it is, Silver."

"I can't do that. I promised Lyra that I wouldn't," Silver admitted. When he saw my expression change to almost desperate, he sighed. "Just give it some time and you'll find out soon enough. That's all I can reveal to you without betraying my promise to Lyra." And with that, he went off to find Lyra, leaving me to stand there and think about what he just said to me.

* * *

_Chapter 8 is finished..._


	9. Finally

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

**_Chapter 9 - _**_Finally_

**

* * *

Lance - **_26 Years Old

* * *

_

I stared down at the ring, glimmering and shining in the light. Was I really going to do this? I had to, that was my answer - or at least the answer I was trying to convince myself with. I was forcing this relationship with Cynthia (who had been throwing signals around for months now) forward so I wouldn't get caught up in these newfound feelings for Lyra of mine. I mean, it was just so wrong, how I was beginning to think of her. I sickened myself, really. Here I was, a man of twenty six years of age, with a girlfriend of two years, and all I could think about was this eighteen year old girl who pretty much encompassed my whole world. I remember what she had thought when I told her I was going to propose to Cynthia.

_"You're a great guy, Lance. She'll be really happy. I'm glad for you..."_ Was what she had said. But all that happiness she had shone seemed feigned and fake, and I wasn't happy about that or this.

Second thoughts started to enter my head, but before I could reconsider anything, I heard Cynthia knock at my door. Sighing, I made my final decision, and got up to greet her.

* * *

I slammed my door shut and threw my soaked jacket on my couch, not caring one bit if it ruined the upholstery. Rubbing my forehead, I leaned against the door, sighing heavily. That was such a _fucking _disaster. I hadn't had the nerve to propose and, on top of that, Cynthia had gone on a rampage about how she knew it was Lyra, and how disgusting I was for it. I was just about to head to my room when I heard sobbing from my kitchen.

Curious, I entered it and saw a dressed-up and crying Lyra sitting in one of my dining chairs. The first thoughts that came to mind was: how did she even get in here? But I quickly scrapped that and went to her side. "Lyra," I shook her shoulder, but she only continued to cry into her hands. "Lyra," I tried again.

"L-Lance," she turned to me, tears falling down her red face. "I'm sorry. Clair let me in."

"That doesn't matter," I said quickly, "what happened to you?"

She could only cry harder at that. Taking her in my arms, I brought her into the living room, sitting her down. "Lyra, tell me, please. I want to help you."

Looking at the ground, she whispered something inaudible. "Lyra," I said quietly.

"It… it's Eusine," she confessed finally. A new hatred for him was formed instantly within that second. Whatever he had done to her - he was going to _pay_ for it. "He-he…" Lyra tried to tell me what he did, but instead only hiccupped over the tears and cried harder.

I realized that this was going to be harder than it seemed and that it was going to take some coaxing. I took her up to my room at that, and sat with her for what seemed like (and probably was) hours, until she finally settled down. She was literally latched onto my shirt as I held her like a baby. Again, this was just so wrong. But she needed someone right then, and she had come to me. "Lyra?" I said after a second. "Lyra, are you ready to tell me now?" She sniffled. "Lyra?"

"Eusine… we were on a date," she explained slowly.

I nodded. "Go on."

Another tear fell from her eyes, and she squeezed them shut for a moment before reopening them and continuing, "And we went back to his place, and we were kissing when he wouldn't stop…" she bit her lip, "pressuring me." She stopped and looked up at me, to see if I understood what she meant, and I did perfectly. "I told him 'no', but he wouldn't stop. I'm not ready, but he can't see that! Finally I just left," she paused to take a shaky breath, "and then an hour later I came back - I thought it through and thought that I could do it, for him, for the relationship. And when I went back to his room looking for him, he was all over this random blonde. H-he cheated on me, Lance. And with some random girl, too! I… I can't believe I ever trusted him!" She convulsed at that, before entering another round of tears at the confession. As she bawled, I whispered nonsense in her ear and rubbed her back to soothe her. Suddenly, though, she tried to control her tears and forced a smile up at me. "But I shouldn't be destroying your evening like this. I mean, you're going to get married now, and I'm just dampening the mood for you. So, how romantic was it?" I couldn't believe that after everything she had just been through, all she could think about was my non-existent engagement to Cynthia.

I shook my head, looking away. "What is it, Lance?"

"I didn't do it," I admitted, pursing my lips together.

"Oh, Lance," she looked horrified that she brought the subject up. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"No, it's okay," I smiled sadly to myself. "The truth is, I _couldn't_ do it. I couldn't propose marriage to someone I don't love."

"But you've been with Cynthia for two years, Lance! You had to have loved her!" Lyra was surprised at what I had said.

I shook my head. "I don't, and never did." I took her hand in mine, and smiled at her hopefully. It now seemed as though she was distracted from the Eusine problem, if only for a moment. I swore, I would beat his sorry ass for what he did to her. But right then, I was just happy to be with her. Staring deeply into her eyes, I found myself leaning in, and before I knew it, I was kissing her. And it _wasn't_ a "New Years" one.

* * *

_Chapter 9... done._


	10. Just Friends?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

**_Chapter 10 - _**_Just Friends?_

* * *

**Lance**

**

* * *

**

I woke up next to Lyra, my head pounding. I almost scared myself senseless when I checked to see if I was still wearing clothes. I seriously couldn't have looked at myself ever again if I knew I had taken her innocence, especially after she had made it so clear that she wasn't ready yet.

Looking down at her, I pulled her closer. And despite everything I had told myself about how wrong this was, I commenced to kiss her, pushing her slightly still-curled hair out of her face. When I pulled away, I realized she was awake. "Morning," I whispered to her with a soft smile.

"Good morning," she had an embarrassed blush on her face as she said this. She touched my face gently. "I can't believe that this all happened."

"Finally," I told her, leaning down and kissing her again. She smiled against my lips, kissing me back. I propped myself up against the headboard of my bed, wrapping my arms around her waist. She placed her arms on my shoulders for stability, straddling my legs. We stayed lip-locked for most of the morning, and it was the most blissful waste of time I'd ever had the pleasure to engage in.

* * *

Eventually we managed to pull away long enough and make our way down to the kitchen so I could make breakfast. All morning, I had a huge smile on my face, despite myself. But happiness and relief set aside, it quickly became awkward. I mean, what were we now? In a relationship, boyfriend and girlfriend? Friends with benefits? Or still just friends (I hoped to Arceus that it wasn't this one!)?

The day passed relatively well, filled with random kisses and fits of awkwardness. And so here we both sat now, in the living room on my sofa, on opposite ends. "So… what's going to happen now?" Lyra asked after a moment.

Truthfully, I really didn't know what was going to happen beyond this. And that was strange for me - I usually had everything figured out. But right now, I was kind of hoping she'd have an answer. I shrugged, "I really don't know."

She sighed. "Neither do I. I mean, do you know what my mother will think? Or your grandfather? Oh my Arceus…!" she covered her face with her hands. "Lance, this is just all so screwed up. If we start something, I'll look like some whore because I just left Eusine, and everyone will think you're some player who just left Cynthia to pursue me. Either way, if we get together, every outlook on it is going to be a bad one."

"Except for our own," I added in quickly. She smiled at me. I continued on my own input, "but I agree with you. No one will think positively of us - they'll think we're some kind of joke what with the age difference."

"There was an age difference with Eusine," she commented quietly.

"Still… maybe we… shouldn't go any further with this," I unwillingly offered as an answer. "I mean, maybe it was all just a fluke. An accident. The result of the pressures of the moment, if you will. And there are just too many other problems that will complicate us. I don't want you to hate me because of my hectic schedule or what others think."

"Y-yeah," she forced out. There was an painfully long pause between us.

"So… are we… just going to go on… as friends?" I couldn't believe what I was saying!

She looked uncertain, and turned away from me with a wistful look on her face. "Lyra?"

Suddenly, she whipped around and kissed me hard. I stumbled backwards, but held her close nonetheless. After we broke apart, she smiled sadly, before pulling herself back and to the other side of the sofa again, putting as much distance between her and I as she could. She then nodded slowly. "Friends. Just… friends."

I stood up and began to walk towards her, but she wrapped her arms around herself and purposely avoided me, making her way to the door. "I'll see you later, Lance," she said before she opened it up and left, tears glittering in her eyes.

I nodded my head at her, and the second the door shut, I fell to the sofa, face in my hands, ashamed at what my excuse was for starting a relationship. It was because I was scared. I was scared I would hurt her somehow and she would hate me because of it, and that was what was keeping me away from her. But was I really going to make myself go through this again? Was I really go to just deny everything? According to Lyra, I was.

* * *

_Chapter 10 ends._


	11. Confessions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 11 - **Confessions_

**

* * *

Lance

* * *

**

It was two months later that I heard the news that Lyra was planning to go off to the Sinnoh region. The first time I had heard about it was through some gossiping girls, and I was angry that I hadn't been told sooner and by Lyra herself. But no, instead, I had to find out through a bunch of obsessed fan girls!

After an extensive search, I still couldn't find Lyra, and was beginning to get highly annoyed that she wouldn't just talk to me. So, as a last, desperate resort, I tried her PokeGear. And she picked up.

"Lyra!" I shouted into the little device. "Where the hell-"

"Lance," she whispered. "Why are you calling me?"

"Why do you think I'm calling you? I want to know why I wasn't told that you're going to Sinnoh!" I tried to calm myself down, but it just wasn't working, and I could hear my voice getting louder and louder. Hey, I was upset!

"I couldn't," I just barely heard on the other line. A long moment followed before she continued, "Lance, I'm sorry for not telling you. But I'm leaving tomorrow. Please, don't try to stop me. This is for the better - I promise." And with that, she hung up on me. And realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

**

* * *

Lyra**

**

* * *

**

Standing in front of my house, I released my Pidgeot out. I smiled sadly at him, "I'll be down in a few minutes, I just have to grab my bag." He cawed at me, and I made my way back into my house.

My mother stood in the front with crossed arms. "What's wrong, mom?"

"That Lance boy won't stop calling!" she complained, a scowl ever-present on her usually calm face. But then her expression softened, and she added whisperingly, "…maybe you should talk to him in person before you leave."

I sighed. We'd been through this a thousand times before. "Mom, I don't want to and I don't need to. Lance's a reasonable guy, he understands," I explained.

"He seems awfully obsessed with you," Rayne commented absent-mindedly.

"That's enough, mom," I drawled.

"Okay, okay," she sighed. "I'm just going to miss you, Lyra. You're going off again. It seems like only yesterday that you were flying in from your Kanto trip."

"I know," I smiled at her and hugged her. "But I'll be back before you know it from this one, too."

She nodded, before shooing me to my room. "Now, go get your things. I'll get Ethan and the Professor and meet you outside."

**

* * *

Lance

* * *

**

Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrap**CRAP**! I was going to miss it - I was going to miss her! I could just turn around now… just stop and take her word for it. Or I could keep going. Yeah, I think I'll choose the latter of the two.

I was racing and dashing down Route 46, making my way towards New Bark Town as fast as my legs could carry me. I was going to make it, and even more than that, I was going to make my feelings, to Lyra and everyone there, known, whether she liked it or not!

**

* * *

Lyra

* * *

**

I sighed heavily as I walked down the stairs. Honestly, I didn't want to leave any of this behind quite yet again. And if I was really, _really _going to be truthful to myself about everything, I didn't want to leave Lance, either.

But it had to be done.

Stepping out of my door, I saw Ethan, Professor Elm, and my mother all standing there. Nostalgia hit me then. It was just like the first I had left…

I smiled as tears streaked my face. They all smiled back. "I don't think I'm ready to leave yet," I said quietly to Ethan as I hugged him tightly.

"Then don't," he took my hands in his.

I squeezed them. "But I need to, for myself." Replaying almost everything exactly the same as the first time, I was soon done with the painful goodbyes, and trying to put all self-doubt that was beginning to pile up behind me, I turned to my patiently waiting Pidgeot. "Okay," I patted his side, signalling that we were done here. "Let's go now." I hopped on his back and was just about to set off when-

"Lyra!" I swore my heart stopped at the sound of that voice. My head swung around. "Lyra! P-please, stop!" The three others turned around at the sound of Lance's voice, too. My mother's eyes visibly widened. "Lyra," he called my name one last time before he stopped in front of my Pidgeot, me staring down at him. He stood there, hands on his knees, trying to recover from the running.

"Lance," I jumped off of Pidgeot, who was curious as to why we hadn't left yet, and walked to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here," he panted, "to tell you that I was wrong."

"What?" I blinked.

"I was wrong about everything, Lyra. I-" he breathed in sharply. "-I love you, Lyra." My mother's jaw dropped.

"Lance, I-I-" I stammered. I couldn't believe that this was happening right now, of all times. Regardless, he continued.

"And I know that this is sudden, but I _do _want to take this somewhere," he took one of my hands, and bent down on one knee. Oh my Arceus. This _wasn't_ happening. He then did what I expected, pulled a ring out of his pocket, but he didn't say what I expected. "Lyra, I know this is too fast for anything real to happen. But I want you to have this-" he slipped the dragon-shaped ring on my finger and continued, "it's an ancient ring that has been in my Dragon Taming family for years. The tradition is that the last male of the clan, being me, gives it to the woman he loves, being you. It's sort of like a promise ring, Lyra. And what I am promising to you is that I'm going to love you no matter what." And with that, he stood up and took my other hand, staring deeply into my eyes. The three innocent bystanders were still off to the side - Ethan and my mother's mouths gaping open, and the Professor observing it all in amusement. "And I'm also asking that you stay and allow us - both of us - to give _this _a chance." All I could do was stare at him.

**

* * *

Lance

* * *

**

So, here I was. Holding this woman in my arms, after very publicly expressing my love for her, to her. I stood there nervously, hoping against hope that she wouldn't reject me and leave me standing there. But she wasn't moving at all, and I was beginning to wonder if I hadn't put her in some state of mental insecurity at how rushed my confession had been. Finally, after what felt like an awkward eternity of having six eyes stare down at us, I did what I thought would break whatever was compelling her to be like this, and so I kissed her. I knew it was a good thing when she didn't struggle away, and so I didn't stop. When I did pull away though, I looked at the three people watching us. Her mother looked like she wanted to kill me, the boy was just staring, and the Professor was smirking at us. I couldn't help but feel my face flush when I realized that they had been watching the _entire _thing.

I looked down at Lyra. "Lyra." She still wasn't moving. "Oh, for Arceus' sakes, Lyra, say something - or at least do something!"

She finally moved - okay, blinked, at me, before grabbing my shirt in her fists and smashing her face into mine again. "I love you, too, Lance," she murmured against my lips. "And I'll stay." And I was the happiest man in the entire world.

* * *

_...Chapter 11 is finished!_


	12. Baby Drama

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 12 - **Baby Drama_

**

* * *

Lance - **_31 Years Old

* * *

_

"I'm pregnant, Lance."

My head was spinning. After almost four years of marriage, we were going to have a baby. And this baby, unfortunately enough, was an accident. We had been pretty consistent on using protection because we both specifically knew that we weren't quite ready for one yet. But one night (apparently around about two and a half months ago), did we let our passion just totally overcome our common sense, and now this was the result.

But were we ready? I mean, I had a chaotic schedule that took up a lot of time, and Lyra still loved to travel around, and having a kid would just limit that hugely for her. I really didn't know if she was ready to have a baby, or even if I was at that. But it's not like we could just go back in time and undo this, now, could we? But don't get me wrong, I would love to be a father. I was terribly grateful for this, for the chance to be one, because I knew people who couldn't have kids and who wanted them so badly. It just didn't seem as though it were the right time quite yet.

"Lyra," I breathed. "I…"

"We don't… have to keep it, you know…" she trailed, a distant look in her eyes.

Suddenly, my head shot up at what she had said, and I was horrified. Did she really think I didn't want it? "What are you _talking_ about?" I put an arm around her and offered a soft smile. "Lyra, I will agree with you, this is unexpected. Really unexpected. But I'm not going to just give up like that - I want to have this baby with you, because I love you." I kissed her before placing a hand on her stomach.

She smiled, placing her hand on top of mine. "I wonder if it's a boy or a girl. Do you want to find out?"

I shook my head. "No. A surprise would be nice."

"Good, I was thinking the exact same thing," she laughed as I trailed butterfly kisses along the slight bump that was there. Only six and a half more months to go.

**

* * *

Lyra - **_23 Years Old

* * *

_

"Lancccccceeee," I whined. I was miserable, and I had all the reasons to be. I was more than four days overdue, and the doctor, for some Arceus-awful reason, refused to induce me. I had been a bag for the past few days and was taking it all out on Lance - well, who else? I mean, he _is _the one who did this to me!

"What is it?" he popped his head out of the kitchen to see what it was that I needed.

"Can you pass me the phone?" He nodded, and went to the table beside me and passed it to me. "I'm going to call Erika to ask why in the _hell_ the doctor won't induce me! Her doctor did, and so did Whitney's! So why not me?" I complained.

"The doctor told you why," he reminded, sitting down beside me. "He said that the baby needs to stay in the womb for as long as he… or she… can. And if it really comes down to it, he'll induce you. But not yet, honey." He kissed me before placing a hand on my freakishly large stomach. As I stared down at it, I swore that I would never be able to push something _that _big out of there.

I smirked after a second. "You still convinced it's a boy?"

"Definitely," he smiled up at me.

"Well, I still stand strong that it's _definitely _a girl," I placed my hand on his, before pulling his face to mine in a lustful kiss. "Maybe _you _could induce me," I whispered in his ear sensually.

Lance pulled back, despite himself. "No, Lyra. The doctor prohibited it." Despite what he was saying, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to as much as I did. I just wanted this baby out already!

"Fine," I moodily crossed my arms and turned away from him. If that was how he was going to be, then whatever! He smiled at me, before laughing a bit. I didn't find anything funny in this at all!

"I love you, Lyra," he chuckled to me as he went back to the kitchen.

"If only you knew what it feels like to go through this! Then you'd do it!" he only continued to laugh. Now my hormones were flying out of control. "I hate you!" I screamed.

"Okay," he continued to laugh.

"Get back here!" I commanded as I jumped up from the couch (the best I could, at least). "You did this to me, so you have to listen to me and do what I say! Now get over here!"

He sighed, before turning around and kissing me again, shutting me up. What had only meant to be a short, simple kiss, though, quickly reversed into something incredibly fuelled. Before either of us knew it, he was throwing me onto our bed upstairs, caressing my neck. "If you go into labour, I blame you," he whispered to me in between kisses.

"Yeah, yeah, just shut up and do me," I was amazed by how bitchy being pregnant made me. "I want her out already."

"You can stop saying it's a girl, you know, when we both know it's going to be a boy," Lance smirked at me.

"Again, shut-up," and with that, I grabbed his button-down shirt and ripped it off. Oh, how I would regret all those actions within passing hour. I guess there's a reason the doctor specifically told us, "Don't have sex!"

**

* * *

Lance

* * *

**

"I mean what I said now, Lance - I hate you! IhateyouIhateyou_Ihateyou_!" Lyra screamed at me as a nurse wheeled her to a private room in a wheelchair.

I sighed. "I told you this would happen!"

"But you didn't stop me? What kind of husband are you!" she yelled harshly, grabbing her stomach in pain as another contraction struck her. I couldn't help but cringe at how horribly excruciating it looked to go through. Finally, with much difficulty, she was brought to her room and the nurse left as quickly as possible, as Lyra was beginning to get violent.

"I'll get the doctor," was what the pale little nurse said before bounding out, relieved that she could.

I sat next to my howling wife, listening to her go on and on, when the doctor, Dr. Keller, came in. "So! How are we doing here?" he asked with a cheery smile, and Lyra growled at his enthusiasm.

I spoke for her. "I think she's in labour."

"Damn rights she is!" the doctor laughed as though it were some kind of joke. But then he became serious, "but you weren't supposed to be expected to go into labour for another few days or so." He gave me a look, crossing his arms accusingly. "Care to explain, Mr. Champion, why she is then?"

I looked around nervously. "Uh… well, you see, a man has his needs, doctor."

"I know, I am one! But you couldn't hold out for just three or four more days? Really, Lance?" the doctor shook his head at me in disapproval. "Oh, what your grandfather would think-"

"No, no! No need to involve my grandfather… um, just go on," I panicked at the thought of my grandfather. He was just such a fickle old man.

"Well, then," the doctor frowned. "We need to check just how dilated you are, Lyra." Lyra was almost ready to punch somebody - most likely myself - when she learned that she was just a little over one centimetre. The doctor said that she would either, one, dilate fast, or two, it would take a few hours, but ultimately, he wanted us to stay there at the hospital.

"Dammit, Lance!" she cried to me once the doctor had left.

"I'm sorry, Lyra," I helped to prop her up to make her that much more comfortable. "We really should have just held out."

"Ya think?" she spat at me sarcastically.

"You could have an epidural to ease the pain, you know," I reminded her of what Dr. Keller had told us.

"Like hell, Lance!" she scoffed. I sighed as she gripped my hand as she contracted again. This was going to be a looooooonnnngg night.

* * *

"Lance! Dammit, I can't do this!" Lyra cried. She'd been pushing for damn near two hours, and had barely gotten anywhere.

"Come on, Lyra, it's been almost one day of this, if you can't do now, then you can't ever do it again!" I encouraged.

"What? Are you implying that we're going to have more kids? Really? After this, I don't think so!" she snapped. I had to agree - this seemed like a lot to go through just to have a baby.

"Just one more push, Lyra!" Dr. Keller reassured with a big grin at her.

"That's what you said twelve pushes ago!" she whined.

"I promise, last one," he gave her a thumbs-up.

"You better hope so!" she screamed. And lo and behold, with one long, overly loud push, was this baby finally here. He… she… it screamed and shouted just as much as its mother did - you could seem the resemblance almost immediately. And when I looked down at _him _I felt something indescribable wash over me. Fatherhood. I was a daddy. I had a baby now - it wasn't just about me and Lyra anymore.

And then Dr. Keller roared out happily, "Congratulations, it's a girl!" But that didn't burst my bubble at all, in fact, it just made me that much more proud.

Lyra smiled at me from the bed, sweat covering her head. "See, I told you so." I could only grin, and after the umbilical cord had been cut and our daughter washed off, I took hold of her in my arms and brought her over to her mother.

"What can I say? You were right," I sat beside Lyra and passed her our baby, kissing her forehead as I did so.

Lyra had a huge smile on her face, as well. She played with the curly, red puffs of hair on her head. "She has your hair," she noted quietly.

"But she has your eyes," I added, looking down at the little wonder.

There was a perfect moment that seemed to last forever where neither of us spoke, we just admired our baby. It was just so amazing… what I felt for this little thing, despite her being in the world for little less than a half hour, and what I felt for her mother. Suddenly Lyra spoke, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean what I said earlier, you know," she smiled down at our daughter - who was going to need a name sooner or later, I noticed. "I don't hate you. I love you, Lance, and this baby. More than anything in the world. And…" she cracked a goofier smile. "I guess that wasn't so bad. Maybe we could still have more kids a little further down the road." I could only smile at her remark. She really was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and nothing could change my mind of that.

* * *

_Chapter 12 is done!_


	13. Naming

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 13 - **Naming_

**

* * *

Lyra

* * *

**

"Do you like the name Ruby?" I asked Lance as we flipped through some name books, me holding our daughter. She was almost two weeks old, and still nameless. Lance and I really hadn't discussed names throughout the pregnancy, so we were going through all of that right now.

He shook his head simply. "Not at all. It just seems tacky to name a child who is going to have a head full of red hair that."

"Makes sense," I nodded at him. "I was just throwing it out there." We went through this for another two hours, and we were both just fed-up and exhausted by the end, and the crying still-no-name that we were passing back and forth was proof that she was done, too. "You know," I said after forty-five minutes of just sitting there. "I don't know what your favourite baby girl name is, but you know mine."

"It won't make a difference," he sighed, "you'll hate it."

"Try me," I challenged.

"Well, it's… Aurelia," he admitted. "It means golden, and ever since I first heard it, I've always wanted to name my daughter that, if I ever had one. Cynthia hated it, and I figured you would, too."

I chose not to say anything about mentioning of his ex-girlfriend, and how he had actually discussed having kids with her. I had the knowledge that he had "lost it" it to her, even though he had never said anything about it. What, did I really expect him to wait until marriage, a twenty-six year old male who had almost every woman in Kanto and Johto crawling all over him? Of course not, but it was still a tender spot to touch upon for me, if not him, as well. But the truth was, aside from that, I really liked the name. It was gorgeous, actually. "Lance, why didn't you say so?" I smiled brightly at him. "I love it."

"Really?" he blinked at me. His eyes were adorably huge at that, and I couldn't help but note that he genuinely thought he didn't have a say in the naming of our daughter. Of course, he did!

"Yes, really," I giggled at his expression. "Now all we need is a middle name. But I get to pick this one!"

"Be my guest," he moved closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as I thought.

"Something simple, but not something that everyone else will have like Anne or Michelle," I thought out loud. "Aurelia… Aurelia Celeste. I like Celeste."

"It's perfect, like our daughter," Lance said, and I knew that he couldn't help but be vain, and neither could I. We were just so awed by our daughter - she seemed like the most flawless thing in the entire universe. And to us, she was.

* * *

_Chapter 13 is done!_


	14. A Big, Ol' Happy Family

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 14 - **A Big, Ol' Happy Family_

**

* * *

Lance - **_37 Years Old

* * *

_

"Daddy!" I heard Aurelia scream at me. "Luna won't stop taking running off with Igglybuff!" I sighed. How many times did I have to tell Luna that Igglybuff wasn't hers? I stood up from my chair in the kitchen. "Luna, get in here!" I shouted softly at my middle child.

Suddenly, Luna ran in and past me, holding a small pink Pokemon in her arms. She looked up at me innocently with big, brown eyes. "What is it, daddy?" She tucked her black hair - which she had inherited from my mother - behind her ears.

"Why won't you stop taking your sister's Pokemon?" I asked her quietly, bending down to her level to look her directly in the eyes.

"Because, dad, I want one! It's not fair that she has one and I don't," she explained, making a valid argument. I had to agree with her, it did seem unfair.

"Sweetheart," I smiled at her. "If you give your sister back her Igglybuff, we'll go out and catch you whatever Pokemon you want later, okay?"

A bright smile broke out on her face, and she started to nod spastically. "Okay, daddy!" she then ran out, screaming to her sister conceitedly while squeezing Igglybuff in her arms, "Aurelia! Dad said I could have _any _Pokemon I want! I'mma get a Charizard!"

"Within reason!" I yelled back at her, but she probably didn't hear me. Ah, well, she'd learn. We'd start out with something simple and cute, like a Cleffa or an Eeevee. Lyra then came into the kitchen, holding our baby son, our youngest, Miguel.

"He's a lot quieter than the girls ever were," Lyra commented as he continued to snore in her arms. It seemed all the little guy did was eat and sleep.

"I agree," I said, getting up and walking over to her. "Here," I held out my arms, and took our son. I smiled at her, and she smiled back before yawning, a weary look on her face. Lyra had given a lot up to have Aurelia, Luna, and Miguel, and I adored her even more for it. She had to give up her traveling, which had meant a lot to her, just to become a mother. But even though she given up a lot to be one, you could tell that she loved it just as much as I loved being a father, no matter how tiring it got. "I love you, you know that, right?" I told her, kissing her forehead.

"Yes, I know that," she looked down at Miguel. "I believe he - and the other two out there - are proof enough of that. And I love you, too. But what is this about you promising to catch Luna a Charizard?" She gave me a look at that.

"I said nothing of it," I set straight. "I said that I would catch her _a _Pokemon. Not a Charizard. I was thinking an Eevee." My arms started to hurt at holding Miguel then. "The one thing that he is that the girls definitely weren't is heavy. How do you carry him around all day?"

"You learn," Lyra laughed, taking him from me. "I'm going to go put him down for tonight, all he wants to do is sleep." I followed her upstairs and into Miguel's room. She placed him down gently, and once again, we just stood there, watching him sleep.

Without thinking, I spoke. "I want another one."

Lyra turned to look at me, a look that said 'are you _insane_?' on her face. "Lance, I'm sorry. I _do _love you, but I am _not_ having another baby before I turn thirty."

"Doesn't mean we can't _try_," I turned to her, my eyes glinting lustfully. She laughed at me, but I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm serious. Let's just put Luna and Aurelia to bed, and then it's my turn…"

"You're just as much as a goofball as you were ten years ago," she pushed me away with another laugh.

I frowned at her, giving her puppy dog eyes. She looked away from me, trying to stay strong. Running a hand up and down her arm, she finally submitted, and giving one last look at our son, walked out of the room, pulling me out before shutting the door. Leading me to our room, she yelled at Luna and Aurelia, "Bedtime!" All that was heard before she slammed our door shut was, "Aww, but, mom, why?" and "Dad, you promised! I wanna Charizaaaaaard!"

* * *

_Chapter 14 = done!_


	15. The End!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

_**Chapter 15 - **The End!_

**

* * *

Lyra - **_Years and Years Later…

* * *

_

"Annika," I called to my granddaughter.

"Yes, Gramma Lyra?" the pretty little blonde came bouncing up to me, batting her long eyelashes and smiling brightly. She was only six years old, but the prettiest little thing I'd ever seen.

"Here," I smiled back at her, holding out my hand and dropping a Pokeball into. "Happy 6th birthday."

If it was even possible, her smile grew wider, and she hugged me tightly before releasing the Pokemon within the capture device. A Cyndaquil, exactly what she had always wanted! "Oh my Arceus, Gramma! Thank you sososososo much!" she bent down to hug her new Pokemon, which squeaked happily at her. "I've always wanted one just like you had."

"They are very loyal, loving Pokemon," I told her, picking her up and placing her on my lap as she held Cyndaquil. "If you treat her well, she'll treat you just the same. Just remember that."

"I will Gramma," she kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks, again. Wait 'til Molly sees! She'll be so jealous!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm, and looked down at my hand where the dragon ring still sat. The tradition was to give it to the last _male _of the Dragon Taming clan, but there were technically none left. When I had offered it to Miguel to give to the woman he would eventually go on to love, he refused, saying that all he wanted to do was to travel, and that he didn't want a family. And he had stayed true to that, travelling to every little corner or every little region. Aurelia had only had a daughter, her being Annika, and had been rendered infertile after that. The last hope for a male heir was Luna, but she had three daughters, Molly, Catalina, and Arabella, but that was it. And, with no technical males left, I didn't know who to give it to. I was going to try to keep it going for as long as I could in this family, and so the last person I could think of to have it was little Annika, though I'd get Aurelia to take better care of it until Annika was old enough to really understand it. Sliding it off my hand slowly, I placed it in Annika tiny hand. "What's this?" she blinked between me and it curiously.

"It is something that was very special to both your grandfather and I," I closed her hand shut. "I want you to have it, Annika."

"What does it mean exactly? What made it so special to you and Grampa Lance?" she asked inquisitively.

Nostalgia was cold but delightful in my remembrance of when Lance had professed his love to me. "Well, it symbolized our love for each other."

"Then why are you giving it to me?" she gave me a strange look, scrunching up her nose in question and confusion.

"Because, the tradition of our family is that the last member of the Dragon clan is meant to use this to show another person how much they love each other," I explained.

"But Gramma, I'm not the last Dragon clan member. There's still Auntie Luna and Uncle Miguel and my mum, and also, I don't love anyone. In fact," she crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out to no one in particular, "I hate boys. They're all so mean."

I laughed, "One day, though, dear, you're going to meet some boy that you're going to like very much. And that will be the time when you will tell him how much you like him by presenting him with that ring. I can guarantee it."

"Well…" Annika trailed, placing a finger on her chin as though she were reconsidering. "A boy in my class, Damian D'Amico, is very nice, actually. Maybe he's the one."

I couldn't help but laugh again at how serious she seemed. "Maybe, Annika, just maybe."

She then asked a question that surprised me. "Gramma… do you miss Grampa sometimes? I do." She hugged me again at that.

I smiled sadly at her, brushing my fingers through her hair comfortingly. "Of course, I do. I loved your grandfather very, very much, and I do miss him sometimes, but there are other great things in my life that I love just as much. Like you."

"I love you, Gramma," she whispered, clutching my shirt.

"I love you, too, Anni," I patted her back.

After a while, Cyndaquil became impatient, and jumped away from Annika, bouncing up and down in front of her, demanding to be played with. Annika pulled away from me, dropped the ring in my hand for safe-keeping, and ran off with the fiery Pokemon, skipping along with her in the grass.

I smiled at her when she smiled back at me. But Lance was now on my mind, and I couldn't get him out of my head. You see, he had died two years ago, a little after Catalina's birth. Thankfully it wasn't caused by a disease or cancer - his time had just come for him to go. We'd all been devastated, especially our children and Annika, who was the only one of our granddaughters at the time to really even have the briefest idea of what had been going on.

And now, two years later, we were still sad at what had happened, but we continued to live on happily. I visited with my daughters and their families frequently, and Miguel came by and visited at every chance he could find. I, truthfully, couldn't be any happier with my life. I couldn't think of anything I would want to do differently, as shallow as that sounded. I loved my family and they loved me, and that was all I would ever need and all I would ever want.

"C'mon, Gramma, come and play with Cyndaquil and me!" Annika waved her hand at me, beckoning me to come and play with her in the field in front my house.

Looking up at the sun and thinking of Lance, I held the ring close to my heart before getting myself up and placing it in my pocket. Grabbing my old Typhlosion's Pokeball from beside me, I made my way down the steps and towards my granddaughter. Yes, life was still good. And it always had been and always would be, with love and family like this around.

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_The Cheesy End!_

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**Author's Notes: **Holy crap! O_O Sorry for the terribly stereotypical ending… yeah.

'_Til next time!_

_**Fooboo24**_


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